


Malibu

by phlintandsteel



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 17:13:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17268128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phlintandsteel/pseuds/phlintandsteel
Summary: For the prompt from feignedsobriquet:Use of any of the super cheesy pick up lines starring https://www.instagram.com/barnabas.and.madeline.the.neos/inclusion of big doggos not a necessity but would be nice too? *_*





	Malibu

 

When Steve dragged Bucky Barnes back to the Tower, Tony was expecting brooding, and dark circles under eyes, and maybe even to replace a few pieces of furniture as collateral damage to super soldier meltdowns.  

 

What he was not expecting was for Bucky to go out and get himself a job.  

 

“I’m bored, Stevie,” Bucky says, “Even though Tony very generously said I could stay here with you, for free, that doesn’t mean I have anything to  _ do  _ all day.  You know I’ve never been one to sit around on my laurels.”

 

“But  _ walking dogs _ , Bucky?  Why? You know you could just come work for SHIELD,” Steve says.  

 

“Been there, done that,” Bucky says, staring Steve down casually, almost on a dare.  

 

Steve sighs.  “Saying you worked for SHIELD is like saying  _ I _ worked for  _ Hydra _ …”

 

“Yeah, it is.  Just ‘cause a person doesn’t know they’re doing something, doesn’t mean they’re not doing it,” Bucky says, not budging an inch, “Besides, the place really needed someone who was strong enough to handle large breeds.”

 

“I’m pretty sure there are better things that super strength could be used for,” Tony interjects.  It might seem like he’s agreeing with Steve by saying that, but the flirty tone is definitely not the one Steve’s been setting.  

 

Steve just sighs at him.  

 

“Well, regardless, I’m doing it.  See you all in a couple hours,” Bucky says, grabbing his phone and wallet to head out for work.  

 

“Hey, it could be worse,” Tony says, “He could be walking cats.”

 

“He said he didn’t want to join SHIELD,” Phil reminds him.

 

“Point.”

 

“Hey, would you mind taking a look at my tablet?  It’s been acting funny ever since Clint downloaded that pirated Chinese knock off of angry birds,” Phil asks him.  

 

“Sure thing, hand it over,” Tony says, catching Bucky’s eye just as the elevator doors are about to close on him.  He gives the man a nod of acknowledgement, then turns his attention to the tablet. “So what site exactly did he get it from?  Ugh, never mind, I think I’ve found the problem… Why would he pirate a free app to begin with...” 

 

<//>

 

It’s funny that Bucky got a job walking dogs, not because it’s beneath him or anything, but because he reminds Tony of a big cat himself.  Like a panther or tiger or something. Thick muscle everywhere, graceful, knows exactly how much force it would take to crush your skull… 

 

Bucky is the only other person on the team who can pull off Natasha’s “strangle them with your thighs” move.  Tony likes what that says about him, as a man. 

 

“Is it weird that I wish I was Captain America right now?” Clint says, watching Bucky try to force his best friend to tap out due to lack of oxygen with said move.  

 

“Uh, I,  _ personally _ , don’t find it weird, no,” Tony says, staring as well, “But I’m not the one with a boyfriend.”

 

“Oh please, Phil spent his entire childhood wishing he was Captain America, he doesn’t get to begrudge me five minutes,” Clint snorts, never looking away.

 

“I’m pretty sure everyone in this gym wishes they were Captain America right now,” Natasha adds, pausing to take a drink of water, “Except for Steve.”  

 

Finally, Steve taps out, and they all have to pretend really quickly that they weren’t staring when Bucky looks over in their direction.  Tony and Natasha pick up the middle of a conversation like nothing.  Clint back flips away as if that’s somehow less conspicuous than walking.  

 

“But when I hit him with my Widow’s bites, he did something that made electricity surge over his skin, and it shorted them out.”

 

“Tragic,” Tony nods in commiseration.

 

Steve and Bucky both make their way over to the side of the mats and to the water, which happens to be where Tony and Natasha already are.  

 

“I was hoping you could help me come up with a ‘surprise’ for him the next time we spar,” Natasha says.

 

“Hey, putting enough juice in your Widow’s bites to knock out the god of Thunder isn’t a problem,” Tony assures her.

 

“No, Tony,” Natasha says, putting her hand on Tony’s shoulder, “I want to have enough power to make him feel it for days.  I want to have enough power to  _ send him back in time _ ,” she explains, a gleam in her eyes.  

 

“1.21 Gigawatts…” Tony says to himself, his mind already whirling, “You know what?  Challenge accepted.”

 

“Hey, I got that reference,” Steve beams, having watched Back to the Future with them a long time ago.  

 

Bucky doesn’t say anything, which Tony hopes means that he was too distracted to hear their little conversation before.  Tony flashes Steve a smile for his understanding, nods to Bucky, and escorts Natasha out of the gym to begin work right away.  

 

<//>  

 

“So, Steve said he doesn’t have a lease?” Bucky asks Tony one day.

 

“A lease?  No, why would he, he lives with me,” Tony says, frowning.  

 

“I  _ meant  _ with you,” Bucky says, blushing just the tiniest bit, “Like, a lease for his floor…”

 

“Oh.  No? It’s not like I charge you guys rent, and I really couldn’t care less if you put holes in the walls or repaint or anything,” Tony explains.

 

“Well, it’s just, I was thinking about getting a dog myself?  I didn’t know if that was ok?” Bucky asks. “I’ve really liked working with them, but it’s kind of sad when I have to drop them all off again at the end of the day…”  

 

“No problem, sure, go for it,” Tony initially waves him off, but then he pauses and turns back around, “Just please, for the love of god, do not get one of those tiny yappy dogs that you carry around in a man purse with you everywhere.  I have a bad heart, and it cannot take that much laughter.” 

 

“Noted,” Bucky nods.  

 

Just then the elevator opens up to reveal Bruce, looking harried, with his lab coat still on and a vial of  _ something  _ clutched in his hand.  “Tony? Oh, good, I need your help, the gas chromatograph in my lab stopped working?” he finishes sheepishly.  

 

“What do you mean, stopped working?” Tony asks.  

 

“Uh, I may have spilled some hydrochloric acid on it?”

 

“Yikes.  We might have to just order you a new one, but I’ll take a look at it.  Is that time sensitive?” he asks, pointing to the vial. 

 

Bruce looks down at his hand, like he forgot he was holding it at all.  “...Yes.”

 

“Ok, better stick that in the one in my lab first, then,” Tony says, ushering him back into the elevator.

 

Bucky just watches him go, figuring he technically got his answer, even if the conversation was awfully short...  

 

<//>

 

“You…  You didn’t say you were going to get a  _ puppy _ ,” Tony gasps, seeing Bucky playing with one in the common room.  He immediately drops down on the ground with them, sitting directly across from Bucky, petting and baby talking the little guy right away.  “What’s his name? What breed is he? I’m assuming ‘he’, because of the red collar, but let me know if that’s just sexism talking. You totally seemed like the type of guy to adopt a three-legged, one-eyed shelter dog, by the way, that’s why you caught me off guard,” Tony asks and explains as the puppy practically climbs into his arms.

 

“No, you’re thinking of Clint,” Phil says from the couch with a sigh, reading his newspaper.  

 

“I bought Phil stock in a lint roller company for his birthday, don’t tell him,” Tony fake whispers to Bucky as the puppy starts licking his goatee.  

 

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Bucky says, watching Tony’s eyes light up as he laughs from the tickling sensation.  

 

“So?  Come on, what’s his name?” Tony asks again.

 

Bucky gives himself a mental shake and answers, “Malibu.  His name is Malibu. He’s a Neapolitan Mastiff.”

 

“Nice.  Good name choice, gender neutral, great for yelling when he’s chewed up your slippers.  Isn’t that right, Malibu? You’re going to chew up  _ all _ of the slippers, aren’t you?” Tony says, slipping in and out of sweet talking the puppy.  Malibu takes to licking his fingers after he’s done with Tony’s face. “How’d you come up with that name?”  

 

“He likes you,” Phil says from the couch, still reading.  

 

Bucky freezes, but Tony doesn’t notice, because he’s too busy looking up at Phil indignantly.

 

“Hey!  Animals  _ like  _ me, I’m an animal person.  I gave 20 million dollars to the ASPCA last year,” Tony huffs.  

 

Before that conversation can go any further, Pepper shows up to wrangle him to a stockholders meeting.  

 

“What are you doing?  We have a meeting in, in  _ fifteen minutes _ , Tony, and you’re covered in dog hair!” 

 

“Bucky’s fault!” Tony says, pointing at him and throwing him under the bus immediately.  

 

“You can borrow my lint roller,” Phil says, pulling one out of his jacket pocket.  

 

“There is slobber on your tie.   _ Tony _ .  Fifteen minutes,” she says.  

 

“Yikes, she stopped using contractions, this is serious...  Ok guys, I’ve got to go. Bye Malibu. You be a good little slobber machine,” Tony says, accepting the lint roller and pulling off his tie with his other hand.

 

“This is not a ‘business casual’ meeting,” Pepper starts to say as they get into the elevator.

 

“Would you rather me go with the slobber on?” Tony asks over her as the doors are closing.  

 

It’s silent in the room for a moment after they’re gone, at least, silent aside from the happy puppy noises.  

 

Bucky pulls out his cell phone and makes a call.  

 

The ceiling starts ringing.

 

Then there’s a muffled cursing noise and a banging sound from the air vent.  

 

“Hello?” Clint finally answers.  

 

“Hey, it’s Bucky.”

 

“Oh, hey, Bucky.  What’s up?”

 

“I just wanted to let you know that I no longer ‘owe you one’,” Bucky says with a fake casualness.

 

“How’s that?” Clint asks, immediately skeptical.

 

“Because I  _ didn’t  _ just  _ kill  _ your boyfriend,” Bucky says, and then hangs up on him.  

 

A muffled ‘oh shit’ comes out of the vent.

 

“You have to say something eventually,” Phil says as Bucky picks himself up off the floor, cradling Malibu in his arms.  

 

“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.  But it isn’t your choice to make,  _ agent _ ,” Bucky says, staring him down.  

 

Phil lets go of his newspaper and holds his hands up in acquiescence.  

 

Clint’s head pops down out of the vent.  “You know, that would be a lot more intimidating if you didn’t have a puppy in your arms…”

 

Bucky throws a knife at his head, one handed, without dropping Malibu.  Even though Clint yelps and does get out of the way in time, there are a few dirty blond hairs wedged in the drywall with the blade.  

 

“Was that more intimidating?” Bucky asks casually.  

 

“I’m intimidated!” Clint calls out from the vent.  

 

Bucky hikes Malibu up to rest against his shoulder and walks away with his chin held high, disaster narrowly averted.  

 

<//>  

 

The only bad thing about large breed puppies is that they don’t stay small for long.  However, once Malibu is no longer a puppy, Bucky gets to have an giant, old world, Italian guard dog instead.  So it all works out. He puts a lot of effort into training and raising Malibu right, and pining over Tony from afar.  

 

It takes almost a year for Bucky to work up the courage to say anything to Tony.  What finally does it is finding out that Tony  _ doesn’t _ have a crush on Steve.  

 

“I mean, she’s totally his type.  A feisty brunette who’s friends with one of the leading scientists of their time, not afraid to knock a man unconscious when he’s being a dick, etc, etc.  So I hooked them up. Honestly, I can’t believe no one else thought to lock them in an elevator for three hours before this,” Tony brags after Steve and Darcy have left for their third date.  

 

“But, I thought you liked Steve?” Bucky finds himself spitting out, against his better judgement.  

 

“What?  Of course I like Steve.  Why would I try to set him up so he’s not all lonely and shit if I hated him?” Tony frowns, petting Malibu with one hand absently while he works.  

 

“Right.  Forget I said anything,” Bucky says a little too hastily, wincing when Tony turns away from his holoprojection to look at him.  

 

“Wait, did you think I  _ liked  _ liked Steve?  Why on earth would you think that?” Tony asks.  

 

“Well, I mean, you’re always saying flirty stuff to him,” Bucky points out, which is his number one grievance with the world lately.  

 

“I say flirty stuff to everyone.  I’ve flirted with potted plants before, that means  _ nothing _ .”  

 

“You watch him all the time when we’re practicing in the gym too,” Bucky adds, taking a step closer with a look in his eyes that asks Tony to please contradict that one too.

 

When Tony  _ blushes  _ instead, Bucky knows something is up, and his heart gives a little flip with the burst of hope that hits him.  

 

“Now see,  _ that…  _  There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for that,” Tony says, not taking his eyes off Bucky.  “I look at him real quick whenever you look at me, so you don’t catch me staring at Steve’s sparring partner all the time,” Tony confesses, looking like he’s holding his breath.

 

“Oh…  Just to be, like, 100%, crystal clear here, we’re not talking about Thor, right?” Bucky asks, stepping closer yet again.  They’re close enough now that Malibu can lean on both their legs at once, so he does. 

 

“No, I’m not talking about  _ Thor _ , Jesus fucking Christ,” Tony grumbles, rolling his eyes.  

 

“Tony?” 

 

“Yeah?”

 

“There’s something wrong with my phone,” Bucky says, throwing Tony for a loop.  

 

“Uh, ok...  Did you need me to take a look at it?  What’s wrong with it?” Tony asks, trying to wrap his mind around the abrupt detour as Bucky hands him his cell.  

 

“Your number’s not in it,” Bucky says, giving him a slow grin.  

 

Tony blinks at him for a second, then a smile spreads over his face a well.  He takes the phone and taps it against Bucky’s chest a couple times. “Are we ‘playing’  _ tech support _ here?  Is that what we’re doing?”

 

Bucky opens his mouth to reply, still smiling like a loon, but Tony cuts him off.  

 

“Shut up, and kiss me,” he says, putting his arms around Bucky’s neck as Bucky leans down to meet him.  

 

The kiss is a long time coming, for both of them, and they make sure to enjoy it thoroughly.  Tony is a little out of breath by the time they break apart. He buries his face against Bucky’s chest as he mumbles, “ _ Your phone number’s not in it… _  You’re such a humongous dork…”

 

Malibu barks in agreement.

  
  
  
  


The End


End file.
